


I Invite You to a World Where There is No Such Thing as Time

by Anonymous



Series: To Complete [21]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alice in Wonderland References, Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland Fusion, M/M, Mirror Doubles, Mirror Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 08:16:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8659486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing will be what is it, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what it is, it wouldn’t be and what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?
 ----Since Tsukishima Kei was seven years old, he's always seen people that aren't there, creatures that he knows doesn't exist, and a cat that talks to him. The weirder thing? They're all in his mirror. When he was eleven, the Cat takes him to the mirror world at night, when his parents think he's tucked up asleep in bed. When he was fourteen, the Crazed Owl visits him and tells him they have great plans for him. When he was sixteen, they disappeared and Tsukishima went to high school and grew up.On the eve of his first high school match, the Cat and Owl appear again, begging him for his help in the world in the mirror; but is Tsukishima ready to save them all?





	

**Author's Note:**

> _I have no idea where this came from to be quite honest; I got inspired by the vocal speech (italics in summary) in[this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jghgroHc-AM) song by Shinedown. Sort of a Alice in Wonderland AU, I guess?_
> 
> _Chapter titles from the song_

The first time Tsukishima saw someone in his mirror, he was seven years old. There was a grin, a flash of eyes that looked like cat’s eyes, and then the moving shadow was gone. Tsukishima had blinked and looked around his room – but of course he was the only one in the room. He had stared at the mirror, staring intently at it, but nothing else happened. Tsukishima had crept closer to his mirror and placed his hand flat on the cold pane of glass. For a moment, Tsukishima thought he might have seen a fog crossing across the reflective surface – no, not fog, a thick, black smoke curling around him – and he panicked. He jerked away and looked around, but there was nothing there. No smoke curled around his bedroom, or himself and Tsukishima stared intently into his mirror. There it was again; the grin flashed across Tsukishima’s face, as though _he_ were the one smiling too wide.  
  
Tsukishima blinked, and saw a face starting to form over his own… and then his big brother knocked on the door and it all disappeared.  
  
“Kei, we called you four times! Dinner’s ready!”  
  
“Be right there.” Tsukishima smiled wide up at his brother and Akiteru smiled back. Akiteru left and Tsukishima turned back to the mirror, pushing his glasses up. There was no smile on the glass and Tsukishima reached out to press a hand to the mirror. No black smoke.  
  
Tsukishima frowned intently and then turned away to run downstairs to get dinner. He sat at the table, quiet, swinging his legs.  
  
“Daddy?”  
  
“Yes, Kei?”  
  
Tsukishima pursed his lips and pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Can people live in mirrors?”  
  
The kitchen went quiet for a moment, and Tsukishima kicked Akiteru under the table as he started giggling.  
  
“People can’t live in mirrors, Kei-kun!”  
  
Tsukishima scowled at his brother. “I didn’t ask you!”  
  
“Boys, boys.” Their mother set food down at the table, frowning at them. “Settle down now. No fighting.”  
  
Their parents joined them at the table, and their Father frowned at Tsukishima. “Why do you ask, Kei?”  
  
“I thought I saw someone smiling in my mirror at me… when I touched it there was this black smoke… but there was nothing in my room!” Tsukishima picked up his chopsticks, frowning at the look his parents gave him.  
  
“There’s no such thing as people living in a mirror, Kei.” His Father turned his attention to his food. “You’ve read too many books.”  
  
Tsukishima was going to argue, but his Father’s tone was final and he looked down at his food. He knew it was real.

 

* * *

 

  
Tsukishima was ten years old, just turned, when he rushed home from watching his brother play volleyball. He was tired, but he had a book he wanted to read before he was called for dinner. He dived onto his bed, opened the pages… and heard someone laughing. Tsukishima looked up, his head turning to look at his bedroom door. Akiteru wasn’t standing there like he had expected, and Tsukishima frowned.

  
“Aki?”  
  
The laughter came again and Tsukishima set his book down. He got up and checked outside the window, looking out at their garden. There was no one there and Tsukishima decided it must have come from the street. He closed his window, firmly, and then returned to his bed.  
  
_Wrong place, Kei_  
  
Tsukishima bolted upright and stared around his room.  
  
_Don’t be scared…_  
  
“Who are you?!”  
  
_Your friends… it’s okay…_  
  
The voices seemed to curl around his head, slipping inside his ears so sweetly. He covered his ears, wanting to cry.  
  
_Come to the mirror, Kei…_  
  
Tsukishima hesitated. He’d seen the smile in his mirror more and more frequently since his Father had told him people couldn’t live in them, but he kept telling himself his Father wouldn’t lie… Still, Tsukishima was too curious to ignore the voice.  
  
He hesitated, but he made his way across his room to peer at the glass.  
  
At first, he only saw himself, peering into his mirror and looking like a curious little kid.  
  
_Touch it… touch the glass…_  
  
Tsukishima hesitated, but he recognised the smile in the glass; he trusted it. Reaching out, Tsukishima’s fingers pressed against the cold surface and then immediately jerked back with a yell as his room disappeared. He spun around, but all he could see was lilac – lilac walls stretching up into white. It was as if he’d been put in a room with no windows and doors and all the walls were painted lilac and Tsukishima was _scared_.  
  
Tsukishima shook his head. Every room had a door. It was the only thing that could happen, the only way he could enter in a room or exit it.  
  
“Everything can be nonsense, you know.”  
  
Tsukishima spun around and stared at the tall boy leaning against the wall. He had white hair, all spiked up. A pair of white ears sat on top of his head, and a white tail flickered around his legs. The all too familiar grin that Tsukishima had seen over the years sat on his face, and Tsukishima stepped back, swallowing.  
  
“Relax, I don’t want to hurt you. I wanna play!”  
  
“Who are you?”  
  
“Everyone here calls me Cat.” The boy stepped forward, his tail and ears twitching.  
  
“Cat isn’t a name.” Tsukishima crossed his arms over his chest, frowning deeply.  
  
“Turoo. Turoo Keksurou. That’s what I used to be called, but then everyone just started calling me Cat.”  
  
“How old are you?” Tsukishima paused. “Turoo.”  
  
The boy in front of him raised a white eyebrow and giggled. “Twelve years old.” The tail flicked and the ears twitched again. “You wanna play?”  
  
Tsukishima was going to answer when his Mother’s voice seemed to echo around him; _Kei! Dinner!_  
  
The lilac walls cracked and then smashed, as if Tsukishima had smashed a mirror. The pieces fell down and Tsukishima screamed as they crashed around him. The boy, Turoo, The Cat, disappeared but the grin seemed to have burned itself into Tsukishima’s eyes because it was all he could see around him.  
  
Suddenly, Tsukishima shot bolt upright, breathing heavily. He was in bed, his book on the floor, and he blinked. His door opened, and his brother was stood there. “Are you alright, Kei? You screamed.”  
  
Tsukishima opened his mouth to tell his brother about the boy in the mirror, but he hesitated. “I must have fallen asleep.”  
  
“Bad dream?”  
  
“Mhm.”  
  
Akiteru smiled brightly. “Come on; some dinner will make you feel better!”  
  
Tsukishima nodded a little and got out of bed to follow his brother. As he passed his mirror, hanging on his closet door, Tsukishima hesitated. He reached out to touch it, but nothing happened.  
  
As he left the room, Tsukishima could have sworn he heard someone say _come out and play, Kei, come out and play._

 

* * *

 

  
Tsukishima was eleven years old when he woke up suddenly during the night. His bed felt too cold, and he had the overwhelming feeling that someone was watching him. He went to rub his eyes, but he found his glasses were on his face. Looking up, startled, Tsukishima found he was in the lilac room again.

  
The Cat was there – _what was his name again?_ \- but the was stood with another boy who looked to be the same age. His hair was spiky, like Cat’s, but the top of it was purple, where as the bottom of his hair was the same white as Cat’s. His face was pointed, and his eyes were piercing, deep black, and Tsukishima felt like he was staring deep into his soul.  
  
“W-Who…?”  
  
“WHO WHO.”  
  
“Owl… Shut up.” Cat stepped forward. “Kei, this is Owl.”  
  
“Owl...” Tsukishima blinked. “What’s your name? The one people used to call you like… like...” Tsukishima stared at Cat, his mind drawing a blank.  
  
“Turoo. You’ll forget them every time you leave.” Cat’s grin was unnerving and Tsukishima shivered a little bit.  
  
Owl made a sound Tsukishima could have sworn was a hoot and he stepped forward. “Kobuto.”  
  
“Kobuto...” Tsukishima filed their names away in his mind for a later date and then slowly got out of bed, looking around. “I thought this place fell down when I was last here.”  
  
“Nonsense, right?” Cat’s tail flicked to and fro in mid air, and his grin didn’t leave. “Things are like that around here.”  
  
“Where is here?”  
  
Cat and Owl glanced at each other. They both shrugged, and Cat stepped forward. “Kei, welcome to Occuli.”

 

* * *

  
The walls just melted away. Tskishima blinked at the loss of pale lilac, trying to take in all the colours surrounding him. There was so much _red_ around him and he stepped back, his eyes assaulted at all the brightness. The grass under his feet was just… red. A dark red, that looked like the colour of Tsukishima’s knees when he fell over and they grazed and scabbed. He reached down to feel it. It was cold on his skin, crisp and wet like the grass in the morning. Tsukishima stood and looked up at the sky above him. It was a pale red, like the cherry blossoms that bloomed on the tree by the garden, but with more red hues. There was a large round orb in the sky, and Tsukishima wasn’t sure if it was the moon or the sun – because it was glowing _purple_. There were loads of little dots in the sky around it that were shimmering like stars, but they were green, and blue, and brown.  
  
“It’s night time here at the moment. The sun will rise soon.”  
  
Cat stepped out of the tree line and Tsukishima didn’t think to respond to him. His eyes were staring past him, at the trees. Oh the _trees_! The bark was a bright blue colour, and it was shimmering in the light available from the sky. The leaves were _square_ , and they were a soft pink colour, like the colour of someone’s lips without lipstick. There were flowers that looked like daisies, except they were green. They also came up to Tsukishima’s hip.  
  
“What… What is this place?”  
  
“Occuli.” Cat smiled, and Tsukishima frowned when he realised he couldn’t remember his name any more.  
  
“This is just… not right! This is a dream.”  
  
A hand caught Tsukishima’s arm, and he looked up in shock to find Owl holding his wrist. Sharp nails dug in, hard enough to break skin and Tsukishima yelped in pain. He ripped his arm away and glared. “What was that for?!”  
  
“Pinching yourself to the point of pain wakes you up from a dream, no?” Owl grinned a little, and Tsukishima felt like he were a mouse, scurrying through the undergrowth, trying to avoid his eyes. “Looks like this is no dream for you.”  
  
Tsukishima shook his head and closed his eyes. “This isn’t real!”  
  
“This is very real, Kei.” Cat’s voice was almost a purr and Tsukishima’s eyes fluttered open. He was hanging upside down from a tree… by his _tail_. Tsukishima shook his head and blinked again.  
  
“That tail can’t be real.”  
  
“Pull it and I might scratch your eyes out.” The grin still hadn’t changed on Cat’s face – _Turoo, that was his name_ – and Tsukishima shifted uncomfortably.  
  
“How is this even...”  
  
“What is it, it wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be it would, you see?”  
  
Tsukishima laughed in disbelief. “No. No, I don’t see.”  
  
Owl hooted. Tsukishima stared at him. He hooted again. Tsukishima shuddered where he stood.  
  
“So… what? Why did you bring me here?”  
  
Cat and Owl looked at each other. “Kobuto…”  
  
Owl shrugged and turned to look at Tsukishima. “You see, Kei. Something isn’t right in Occuli right now, and you’re the only one that can help us. Turoo and I spent forever trying to find you, and now we found you but… but you’re not the right Kei. Well, I mean, you’re the right Kei, but you’re also the wrong Kei.”  
  
Tsukishima’s head was beginning to hurt and he shook his head. “That’s just impossible.”  
  
“Oh but it’s not.”  
  
Owl lifted his arms to the side and transformed into… a snowy barn owl. But he was purple, like the top of his hair. He soared up and settled on a tree branch and then appeared back in his… human form. If Tsukishima could call him human.  
  
“You’re the right Kei, but you’re the wrong Kei. It’s simple!”  
  
“It’s nonsense!”  
  
Cat swung up to sit on the tree branch properly and turned to face Kei. “He’s only eleven, Owl. He won’t get it yet.”  
  
“Because he’s the wrong Kei.”  
  
“Why don’t we show you around, Kei?” Cat leapt from the branch and landed on his feet with a purr before he stretched out.  
  
“How old are you two?”  
  
Owl landed on the ground next to Cat and they both grinned at Tsukishima. “We’re 13!”  
  
Tsukishima blinked and then looked away. He wanted to go home. “I’d love to look around with you two but,” _you’re really weird_ , Tsukishima thought. “But I have to go home. My parents will be worried.”  
  
“Aww man we wanted to show you the clouds.”  
  
Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. “The clouds?”  
  
Owl hopped on the spot, hooting softly. “The clouds! We always go there; you can walk across them and jump on them and even _eat_ them if you’re feeling hungry enough.”  
  
Tsukishima blinked at them, wonder on his face for a moment, and then he shook his head. “I want to go home! Let me go home.”  
  
“Oya oya oya.” Tsukishima glanced over at Owl and realised he hadn’t been hooting at all this entire time. “I told you, Turoo, the wrong Kei.”  
  
“How can I be the wrong Kei?!”  
  
“You’re just... the wrong Kei.”  
  
Owl turned away and stared up at the sky. Tsukishima frowned. “I want to go home! Take me home!” Tsukishima stamped his foot, and he immediately froze, hearing a cracking sound. The sky began to fracture, and Tsukishima remembered it from when he was in the lilac room last time from when his Mother called him.  
  
“Sorry, Kei. I guess you are the wrong Kei after all.”  
  
Before Tsukishima could even open his mouth to answer, fractures appeared all over his vision, and the world shattered to the ground around him.  
  
Tsukishima screamed out and sat up. He panted heavily, and found he was still in his bedroom. The light was shining through the curtains, and he looked around. There was no Cat, no Owl – he didn’t even own a cat or owl plush.  
  
Tsukishima frowned a little and reached for the bottle of water by his bed when his brother came running in. “Kei?!”  
  
“Weird dream.”  
  
Akiteru hesitated in the doorway. “Do you want a drink?”  
  
“I have one, thank you.”  
  
Akiteru watched his little brother for a moment and then headed out of the room to give him privacy. Tsukishima laid back down, grateful it was a weekend.  
  
Yawning, he curled up into a ball and closed his eyes again. “Just a really weird dream...”

**Author's Note:**

> So Cat and Owl are meant to be a parallel, mirrorverse version of Kuroo and Bokuto... Im exhausted.
> 
> I wrote this after pulling a literal all night and I haven't slept in about 27 hours now so I apologise for all mistakes; I'll correct later on
> 
> ~~Let's try and keep this one to ten chapters, Ethan~~


End file.
